Rail-splice.



G. E. THACKRAY.

RAIL SPLICE.

APPLICATION FILED we. 15, 1907.

' v1,006,604. Patented 001;. 24, 1911.

AMA Z farm FEMNN 6 9- clare the following to be a full, exact description of the ditions, surface I exterior of the .ing surface will not UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. THAGKRAY, or WESTMONT BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

, RAIL-SPLICE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. THAOK- RAY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Westmont, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvemerits in Rail- Splines; and I do hereby declear, and invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apperta'ins to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in 1'ail-splices such as are used for connecting the abutting ends of railway track-rails and more particularly to the fastening means for securing various kinds of splice-bar's of certain exterior conformation, in position.

In designing and using splice-bars of various kinds, including those having central downwardly projecting flanges, it has sometimes been found desirable to strengthen the'upper part of the splice-bar, that is, the member which fits between the lower surface of 'the'rail-head'and the surface of the railflange, by an external integral thickening or addition of, metal, without however, interferingwiththefianges of the Wheels which run on the track; and similarly, it has been considered advisable under certain conto addto the metal on the exterior of an angle splice-bar at the junction of the splice-bar portion and the inclined. angle-portion, this latter portion being that which rests upon and-bears against the upper surface of the rail-flange. In this strengthening the splice, the added metal at the points previously indicated, has been put in a formfsuch, that when viewed in vertical cross section, the central part 'ofthe splice-bar portion is approximately vertical, to which are joined curves of long radii. This part of the exterior surface of thesplice-bar portion thus approximates a vertical plane in itsinten mediate part with portions of cylindrical surfaces tangent to each edge of said plane. Onaceount ofthe small limitswithin which this construction has to be designed and the comparatively large size 7 of track bolts or fastenings'requircd to give suflicient strength to the joint, an ordinary nut with a flat bear- Sp'ecification of Letters Patent. Application filed August 15, 1907.. Serial No.

clamp the spliee-bars Patented Oct. 24,1911. aaasvatogether, as it would not fit properly on their exterior surfaces, but the corners of the nut would only rub against the curved surfaces of the bar in an unmechanical manner. With a knowledge of these difficulties, I have invented the improvements herein described, one of which consists in the use of a track-bolt having a chamfered nut, the chamfer being so made with approximately spheroidal'corners that it will turn readily within the curved surfaces 'of the splice-bar and at the same time maintain a bearing thereon.

In somecases,in simple design, metrical with entire bearing similar spheroidal cur rature, so that it Will rest in any position against the exterior concavity of the splice-bar, in which case, however, the bolt should have a thickened portion of oval or head to fit into a hole of corresponding shapein the splice-bar, to prevent turning the bolt when screwing on the nut.

In the other case as herein referred to, I may make two opposite interior bearing surfaces of the bolt head curved to approxiorder to make a bolt of the head of which is symthe axis, I may make the mately cylindrical surfaces to fit within thecurved portions of the exterior concavity of the splice-bar, the other two portions of the interior bearing surface of the bolthead being approximately flat to bear against the intermediate portion of the splice-bar, thereby holding the bolt in position without the need of an enlarged or special form of bolt body, which latter may be cylindrical throughout, and the hole in the splice-bar may also be substantially cylindrical. a 1 In order to provide proper bearing for a flat nut and at the'same time a nut lock of the spring gripping pattern, I use in this case an approximately square washer, preferably made of hard spring steel, the ins terior surface of which is shaped and curved to conform to the outline of thegintermediate exterior portion of the splicebar, said washer also being provided with a extending from its exterior edge to the bolt opening therein, the edge-of the said slot on the exterior surface; being provided surface of the head of a other form just below the;

with a sharp lip to engage with the hearing I, surface of thenut and hold the same'in its screwedup posltion.

. Having thus given a general description of my invention, I will now, in order to make the matter more clear, refer to the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and in which like char acters refer o like parts.

Figure 1. is a vertical cross sectional elevation illustrating an angular splice-bar with inwardly depending flanges, the splice- 1 bar portions of which are curved on their exterior surfaces, showing my improvedmanner of securing. the same in position with abolt and chamfered nut of special construction; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the splice-bars shown in- Fig. 1 but with all other portions removed for the sake of clearness of illustration, -As viewed in the drawing, the lefthand side of the splicebar shown in Fig. 2 is provided with cylindr ical holes in which to use one form of track bolt, having a cylindrical body throughout, whereas the. righthand side of other form, having a corresponding enlargement under the head, these two styles of holes being shown on the drawing of one bar forconvenience of illustration only. Fig. 3 is. a vertical cross section of an angle splice-bar having curved surfaces on the exterijor of the splice-bar portion of shape to correspond with the-chamfered nut and Fig. .4 1s a similar cross section of an ordinaryv plain s lice-bar without the angle-member. Fig. 5 1s a vertical cross sectional elevation 'of a splice-bar provided with my improved washer having a curved surface to fit the curvatureof the splice-bar and a bolt having a flat nut bearing upon said washer. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of my improved washer with a lippe'd slot in one side of the samewhich serves as a nut-lock, and Fig. 7

is a perspective viewof the same. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the bolt head shown in,'Fig..1'which may be used with splicebars having .oval bolt-holes, and Fig. .9 ihows a form which-may be used when the oles are circular, all as .hereinbefore described; l

Referring now tothe various characters 1 of reference on the drawings -1 represents a railway-rail of T-s ectio'n, 2 represents the lower surface 0 the head of said rail aridthe uppersurface of" the splice-bar portion resting agalnstthe same, '3 represents the represents the splice-bar generally.

upper surface of the rail-flange and the lower surface of the angle-portion ofthe splice-bar resting against the same; and 4 5 represents a portion. of metal added to theexterior of the/head of the splice-bar as heretofore referred to, said added portion bemg so located and arranged that it serves to strengthen the upper part of the splice bar, but without interfering with the wheel-flanges. I

6 represents the lower portion or angle member of the splice-bar, while 7' represents,

in Figs. 1 and 2, the lower depending portion ofthe splice.

8 represents the curved portion of metal joining theintermediate exterior surface of the main splice-bar section with the angleportion 6 of the splice-bar, said surface 8 as viewed in section being an easy curve or fillet with a long radius to proi'idethe ex- Tterior addition of metal at the angle, or

juncture of the two parts.

9 represents a curved surface connecting the thickening 5 with the intermediate exterior portion of the splice-bar, said curve 9 being of the same contour as the lower one 8.- Both the curves 8 and 9 are prefer- J ably tangent to the intermediate exterior portion of the splice-bar.

Asshown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, 10 represent holes in the splice-bar, which, as shown on the righthand side of Fig. 2, are of oval section, this form being used when the track-bolt is'provided with an enlargement of corresponding shape under the head, which fits in said hole to prevent the bolt from turning when the nut is being screwed on or off. As shown on-the lefthand side 'of Fig. 2, the bolt-holes 10 are cylindrical and only very slightly lar 'er than the body of the bolt. This cylindrical form of hole may be used in connection with my invention, in which case, the shape of the under surface of the head of the bolt, is made to conform throughout as nearly as may be, to the surface of the'exterior portions of the splice-bar against which it rests, thus holding the bolt from turning. The cylindrical form of bolt with a head'forme'd to fit within the exterior surface of the'splice-bar is simpler in construction and of less weight than a bolt with a thickened body below the head,

thus being conducive to economy, besides which, with this style of bolt, the holes in the splice-bar may be much smaller and the splice-bar consequently stronger than one which has larger holes.

Referring to Fig. 1, 11 represents the splice-bolt of the construction as described,

having a head 12, and provided with-a thread at the other end on which is fitted the nut 13. This nut 13 has a chamfered surface indicated at 14, which is of sphes roidal outline adapted to fit the curvature of the exterior portion of the splice-bar against which it abuts, thus allowing the nut to have a proper bearing against the splice-bar and to be screwed or unscrewed as readily as required. This construction of the chamfered nut is valuablein that it provides a simple and efiicient means of fastening the 'concavely curved splice-bars together with-.

- with a fiat bearing out requiring them to be cut away or counterbored as would be the case where a nut is used in direct contact with the splice-bar.

Referring now to F ig, 5, 15 indicates my improved washer which has convex curved surfaces to fit against the corresponding concave curvatures 8 and 9 of the exterior portions of the splice-bar .et-which splice-bar is provided with the upper and lower bearing surface 2 and 3 as heretofore described. For the purpose of convenience of illustration, the lower portion of the splice-bar is omitted inFig. 5, but, however, the projection 5 is shown and the bolt 11 has on its threaded end, a nut 19 which nut has a fiat or plane lower surface resting upon the exterior surface of the washer 15.

Referrin now to Figs. 6 and 7, the washer 15 therein illustrated has a central hole 18 and a slot 16 as shown, one edge of whichslot is provided with an upwardly projecting lip' 17 the sloping side of which is adaptedto permit the nut to turn over the same, the other side of said lip'being substantially perpendicular to the face of the washer in such a Way as to prevent the nut from turning backward or becoming loose, after the fashion of a spring-lock washer. In making this washer, I may bend the portion carrying the lip 17 upward above the surface of the opposite portion, so that it acts like a spring in maintaining the contact of the lip with the nut bearing upon it and thus more eificiently serve the purposeintended.

Referring now to Fig. 8, this shows the form of bolthead as hereinbefore referred to, having/a cylindrical body portion 11 and a head 12, all. corresponding with the side elevation of the same bolt as shown in Fig. 1. The body portion of the bolt has 'anenlargement 24 under the head, of oval form to fit in the bolt-hole 10, thus preventing the boltfrom turning when the nut is screwed on. The inner surface of the bolt head in this case is approximately spheroidal in form and the cross section-of the inner surface taken on a plane through the longitudinal axis of the bolt is substantially the same as the vertical cross section. of that portion of the exterior surfage of the splice-bar against which it fits, the underside of the bolt head, however, being convex and the surface of the splice-bar being concave.

Referringn'ow to Fig. 9,-20 is the form of bolt in which the head 21 is provided on its under side with two oppositely located surfaces 22 of approximately cylindrical form to fit and bear against the adjoining surfaces 8 and 9 of the splice-bar. The intermediate surface 23 may" be either flat or slightly curved, but should conform to the surface of the splice-bar. The inner surfaces of this bolt head fit throughout as closely as prac- 'tion'may all be curved if desired,

tieable to the adjoining surface of the splicevtion is chamfered so that all of its'inner axial sections conform to the corresponding vertical section of the surface of the splicebar, and therefore its inner end and corners will contact with the splice-bar simultaneously. Because of this feature the nut acts in an e-fiicient manner and its inner end has no tendency to Wedge or bind in the groove of the splice-bar, nor to be compressed radially on the bolt.

'1' wish it understood that although I have shown and described the shape of the central exterior portion of the splice-bar as approximately plane at its middle, thence oined by curves above and below, this porormade of a combination of curves and straight surfaces, as may be. desired or expedient, as

my invention is nothmited to connection,

with one precise or particular form of curve, but it is intended to apply to any form of splice-bar of the kind described, provided with a thickening at its upper edge and a corresponding thickening at the junction of the splice-bar portion and the angle portion.

Of course it will be understood from the foregoing description that in each of the constructions described I provide a clamping member (nut or looking washer) which is beveled to a convex curvature to conform accurately-to and fit accurately within the concavity or groove of the splice bar, after tightening.

I do notclaim the special form of splice- I bar herein illustrated, as part of my invention, 'but my invention resides in the arrangement and adaptation of the fastening means for the same. It is to be noted, however, that in each of the forms of the inventi'cn shown and described the splice bar which. forms one element of the combination is made rigid and stiff in a transverse'direction, by giving the same a substantially angular shape in cross section, so that thereby the tightening of the bolts does not produce a bending of the bar in a transverse direction. The clamping bolt and the clamping member thereof to the grooves in the splice bars that said 'bars do not have to be-bent or distorted from their normal shape in order to producelthe are so formed with reference uniform bearing of the parts as hereinbefore described. Hence the splice bars, in view of the comparatively wide'cross sectional area that can be given tl1em,'can easily be made of equal or greater strength than the rails themselves, which is manifestly a desideratum.

Although I have shown and described my improvements in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to the exact and spe- I cificfl details shown and described, but may use such substitutions, modifications or equivalents thereoT, as are embraced within the scope of my invention, as pointed out in the claims.

Having th s described my invention, what I-claim and esire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. In a rail-splice comprising splice bars 10 having .concavities with sloping sides extending externally lengthwise thereof and provided with holes therethrough, track. bolts inserted within said holes and provided with clamping members having bearing surfaces beveled toconform accurately to and fit accurately within the concav'ities aforesaid af:

ter tightening, whereby the inner-faces of such clamping members are'then in full and I rails, said splice bars being still and rigid j in a transverse direction and provided with external longitudinal grooves with sloping sides, splice bolts passing through said splice bars-and the rails and each provided with a threaded'end, and clamping means on each bolt comprising a member, beveled to conform accurately. to and bear uniformly against one of the aforesaid grooves, whereby, said clamping member, after tightening,

has its inner face'in full and uniform contact with the corresponding groove.

.3. In a rail-splice having splice bars fitting between the lower surface of the head andthe upper surface of the flange of the\ rails, said splice bars being of angular sec-- tion, to make them stiff and rigid in a trans= verse direction, and provided with external longitudinalv grooves with sloping sides,

splice bolts passingthrough said splice bars and the rails and each provided with a threaded end, and clamping means on each 1 bolt com prisin a member beveled to con-- form accurate y to and bearuniformly against one of the aforesaid grooves, whereby said clamping member, after tightening, has its inner face in full anduniform contactwith the corresponding groove, each bolt being also provided with a head having bearing surfaces to conform accurately to the cross sectional outline or'profile of the v groove in which it rests.

' 4. The combination wlth a rail-splice-bar angle member thereo said thickenings be- 1 I ing joinedto the centralpart of the body of the. character-described provided with an external integral thickening at the upper part thereof, a corresponding thickening at the junction of the s lic'e member and the of the bar by sloping surfaces, thereby forming an external longitudinal groove in said bar, of a bolt passing through said bar, and

.a clamping member on said bolt beveled to conform to and'fit accurately within said groove after tightening, whereby the inner surface of said clamping member is then in full uniform contact with the surface of thegroove, as described.

5. The combination with a pair of railsplice-bars of the character described, each having an external integral thickening at the upper part of thesplice member thereof and a corresponding thlckening atthe junction of the splice member and the angle member thereof, said thickenings being joined to the central or intermediate part of the body of the splice-bar member by slop- -'ingsurfaces, thereby forming an external longitudinal roove or'concavity in each of sald bars; o bolts passing through 'said bars, and a clamping member on each bolt beveled to correspond with the contour of the longitudinal oove aforesaid and to fit accurately in sai groove after tightening, whereby the inner surface of said clamping member is then in full and uniform contact with the groove, said bolt having a head with its under or hearing side formedto fit the contour of the opposite groove and to rest therein and prevent sald bolt from turning.

' 6. In a rail-splice, a pair of splice bars each provided with an. integral external thickening at the upper part thereof, a corresponding thickening at the junction of the splice-bar portion and the angle portion the bar by sloping surfaces thereby formin an external longitudinal groove in each 0 said bars, in combination with s lice bolts passing through said bars, said olts each having a head with its under side shaped to conform to and to lie within the corresponding groove and thereby prevent the bolt from turn1ng,and a clamping member on the opposite end of said bolt chamfered to conform accurately to and fit accurately within the corresponding groove when tightened, whereby said clampingmember is then in full and uniform contact with the grooved portion of the splice-bar, as described.

7. In a splice-bar provided with an extera washer having a curved surface to conform to the shape of the said groove and an opposite approximately flat surface, said washer being provided with a slot and an externally projecting up-turne'd lip on one side of .the slot, in combination with a bolt passing through said splice-bar and washer and having a flat-faced nut bearing upon the exterior surface of the said washer. 8.- A rail-splice-bar adapted to fitbetween "the head and fiange'of a rail, and provided with an integral longitudinal thickening ,said thickenings being joined to the body 0 -nal longitudinal groove of curved section,

i to above and below the bolt holes'therein; Washers provided with holes to register with the.

holes aforesaid and I haying' a curvedisurfice to fit within said groove betweenffthe' inte igral thickenings aforesaid, each "of said Washers also having a slot extending from one of its edges to the hole therein, a, lip struck up from one of the sides of said slot,

theportion carrying said lip being formed upwardv out of line'with the general surface of the Washer, thereby forming a substan- .tial bearing and a, spring-look for the fiat v nut of track-bolt inserted through the openings aforesaid.

In testimony whereof I hereto affix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses. GEORGE E. THACKRAY. Witnesses:

CYRUS E. BROWN, WM. J. FITZMAURICE, Jr.

Gopies of this patent :nay be obtained for five cents ealch, by'addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

